Creepy Dom

The mansion was once again plunged into its usual silence.

After talking with Slenderman, it seemed the day would end as peacefully as most of the previous ones. Nothing truly unexpected happened within these walls: some inhabitants went about their business, others simply disappeared for a few hours, and still others preferred to avoid each other's company.

But after taking just a few steps down the hallway, a familiar voice broke the silence. "Finally! I was starting to think you'd decided to disappear forever!"

Laughing Jack appeared before {{user}} . He looked like he'd been waiting for this meeting for ages, though he was probably just there by chance. His wide smile spoke for itself—he clearly had a new idea. And given Jack's personality, that rarely meant anything calm. "Laughing Jack? Wow. If I'd known you were here, you wouldn't have had to wait so long."

Jack sighed theatrically, as if he'd actually been forced to endure the greatest trial of his life. "It doesn't matter anymore! Come with me. I have a fantastic idea!"

{{user}} looked at him incredulously. "Another idea? No offense, but... your ideas don't always seem good."

There was a pause in the hallway for a few seconds. Then Jack laughed. "Come on! Show me a little bit of trust. Just a little bit!"

Judging by his enthusiasm, he'd already made up his mind. Without waiting for an answer, Jack grabbed the hero by the hand and confidently pulled him toward the living room. Resistance was practically futile. When Laughing Jack had something in mind, stopping him was harder than keeping Jeff calm.

The living room was already decked out with various decorations. Apparently, someone had been preparing for some event, though it was hard to tell who or why. Jack stopped in the middle of the room and proudly spread his arms. "Here it is! A grand celebration!"

{{user}} blinked. "Celebration?"

"Yes! In honor of your official entry into the Creepy Dom!"

A look of surprise appeared on {{user}} face.

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely!"

Jack looked so confident that for a moment you could almost believe he had a clear plan. But then he added:

"Really... the idea just came to me. So there's no plan yet."

There was silence. {{user}} slowly looked at him.

"So you decided to throw a party, but you didn't even think about what would happen at it?"

"Exactly!"

Jack's smile widened. "But there are already decorations everywhere! It would be a crime not to take advantage of this opportunity."

Despite the absurdity of the situation, the idea didn't sound so bad. After all, so many strange things had happened here in the last few days that a normal party no longer seemed out of the question.

"Why not? Sounds like fun."

Jack's eyes literally lit up. "There! I knew you'd understand!" He immediately turned towards the exit. "Time to send out the invitations! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

{{user}} barely had time to open her mouth to ask how exactly he was going to organize everything, but Jack had already disappeared from the room. "Yoo-hoo! Guys! Get over here!"

A few minutes later, Laughing Jack spotted Ben and Toby passing by the living room. Both stopped, clearly not expecting such a sudden challenge. "What happened?"

Jack pointed at {{user}} as if he were announcing the greatest event of the century. " {{user}} is throwing a party, and you're all invited!"

{user} immediately turned to him. "Actually, you were the one who came up with this whole thing."

But Jack just waved his hand. Toby looked cautiously at the decorations around him. "T-this is cool... I've never been invited to a p-party before."

Ben crossed his arms and looked around the room. "No one has celebrated anything within these walls for a thousand years. So what exactly are you planning to do?"

All eyes turned to Jack. He froze.

"Uh..." He was silent for a few seconds. "I have no idea."

{{user}} sighed wearily. Of course. That's exactly how Laughing Jack's holiday should begin.

Silence reigned briefly in the living room. Everyone expected Laughing Jack to announce his grand plan at any moment. But the party organizer himself seemed to be counting on someone else to come up with that very plan for him.

"I have no idea," said Laughing Jack.

Even Ben was speechless after these words. {{user}} simply sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Don't even look at me. This was your idea."

Jack scratched the back of his head guiltily. "Well... ideas are best born in company!"

Ben chuckled softly. "A convenient position. Plan the party and blame the rest on everyone else."

Jack pretended not to hear the remark. "So! Any suggestions?"

Toby raised his hand hesitantly. "I-It would be fun if..."

He didn't have time to finish.

"Roll her in flour, sprinkle her with salt and throw her into a pit with man-eating wolves." Ben said this as calmly as if he was talking about the most ordinary entertainment.

Silence fell over the room. "What?! No!" {{user}} looked from Ben to the others in horror.

The worst part wasn't the offer. It was Jack's reaction. He thoughtfully placed a finger to his chin. "Well... it works. But... We've had so much fun already. It's time to come up with something new."

{{user}} was silent for a few seconds, trying to figure out if they were joking or not. "What do you mean... have you ALREADY had this much fun?!"

Ben shrugged, as if he didn't understand the surprise. Jack only laughed carefreely.

Toby shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Or maybe..." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "...we could play spin the bottle...?"

This time, {{user}} breathed a sigh of relief. "Well... at least it doesn't involve wolves."

But Ben instantly grimaced. He looked at Toby as if he'd just heard the stupidest thing in his life. "Are you twelve years old? That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

Jack laughed so loudly that his laughter echoed throughout the living room. "Spin the bottle?!" *He clutched his stomach. "Nobody plays that!"

• Toby looked down guiltily. "W-well... there's not much else to do anyway... "He glanced cautiously toward the stairs. *"And... I don't want to make Slenderman angry..."

• These words seemed to change the atmosphere. The cheerful mood faded for a second. Toby never spoke of Slenderman with malice. On the contrary, there was always respect in his voice, almost childish affection. *

• But Ben just rolled his eyes. "Toby... "He shook his head wearily. *"You're such a jerk."

• Jack just snorted. *"Ha! No wonder even his father didn't like him."

• Toby's face immediately darkened. He didn't answer. He only lowered his head further. *

• {{user}} couldn't take it anymore. "Hey! Easy. You don't have to talk to him like that."

For a few seconds, no one said anything. Toby glanced at {{user}} and smiled faintly. It seemed... those words meant more to him than anyone would have thought. Ben suddenly broke the awkward silence.

"Oh." He looked toward the hallway. "Jeff's coming."

A sly smile appeared on his face. "I need to find out what the local expert on idiotic ideas has to say."

{{user}} groaned softly. "That's all I need..."

A few seconds later, Jeff strolled into the living room. As always, his hands in his pockets, a smug grin on his face, and an air of utter annoyance as if the world existed solely to irritate him.

"Hello, losers." He looked around lazily. "What are you up to?"

Ben immediately nodded towards {{user}} . "Laughing Jack's throwing a party. Let's figure out what to do."

"Actually..." {{user}} wanted to object, but no one was listening. All eyes were on Jeff. Even Jack waited for his answer with genuine interest. Jeff frowned thoughtfully.

"Hmm..." He actually looked like he was using his brain for the first time in a long time.

{{user}} couldn't help but smile. "Just don't overstrain him."

Jeff ignored the taunt. A few seconds later, his face lit up. "We need to play spin the bottle!" The room fell silent again.

"I didn't even try to think..." {{user}} sighed mentally.

And suddenly...

"This is..." Ben smiled. "...the best idea ever!"

"Exactly!" Jack slapped his forehead. "Why didn't that occur to me?!"

"But..." {{user}} looked confusedly first at Toby, then at Jeff. "Toby just suggested the same thing a minute ago..."

Jeff grinned contentedly. "I know." He spread his hands. "But being the life of the party requires it."

Everyone looked at each other silently, as if they were expecting someone else to take over the preparations.

Laughing Jack was the first to lose it. "What are we standing there for? The party won't start itself!" He clapped his hands and, looking around at everyone present, quickly began handing out instructions. "We need a bottle! And a place to play in peace."

Jack thought for a moment. "The basement!" Jack grinned. "There's plenty of space, we won't bother anyone, and the atmosphere is perfect."

That last statement sounded rather dubious. {{user}} had already managed to catch a glimpse of the mansion's basement. The old walls, dim lighting, piles of televisions, and endless shelves of junk didn't exactly suggest a fun party. "I don't think the word 'cozy' even applies to this place..."

"No way! Not in the basement!" Ben objected.

"Great! Then we're all in! Let's go!" Jack clapped his hands again. Without waiting for anyone's consent, Jack headed for the door first.

The others exchanged glances. It seemed they no longer had a choice.

The group slowly followed him, descending the old wooden staircase deeper into the mansion's basement. With each step, the air grew cooler, and the dim lamplight only emphasized the cracked stone walls.

On the way to the basement, {{user}} called the other residents of the Creepy House.

The old wooden steps creaked softly underfoot as the group descended. With each step, the noise from the mansion grew fainter, giving way to the cool air of the basement.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Laughing, Jack spread his arms, looking around the room with pride.

"For a basement... fine." {{user}} replied, looking around.

A few seconds later, the door above opened again. Hoodie was the first to appear. He silently descended, adjusted his hood with a practiced gesture, and quickly surveyed the assembled group. Masky appeared next. He looked as if he was already regretting his decision to come down.

"If some kind of circus starts here again..."

"It's about to begin!" Jack answered joyfully, not letting him finish.

Masky just sighed heavily. "I thought so."

Nina appeared behind them. She carefully surveyed the group, then the bottle in the center of the table, and smiled faintly. "Looks like this evening promises to be interesting."

Eyeless Jack has come for Nina.

The group gradually grew larger. The basement became noisier; some were already settling down at the table, others were arguing over food, and Jeff had managed to steal a pack of cookies before the game even started.

Jack slapped his palms on the table, attracting everyone's attention. Everyone gradually fell silent. "Okay! Now that everyone's here..."

He placed his hand on the bottle and smiled slyly. "Time to get started. {{user}} spin first!"

An anticipatory silence fell over the basement.

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